Nicosia, Cyprus. A patient missed the opportunity for a lung transplant abroad after none of the air carriers collaborating with the health ministry could complete an airlift within a three-hour window, the Health Insurance Organisation (HIO) said on Wednesday.
Notification and timeline
The HIO said it was informed on February 2, shortly after 11pm, that a lung transplant was available abroad and that the patient needed to be transported to the hospital by 3am the next morning. The HIO did not name the country where the operation was to take place.
Efforts to arrange airlift
The HIO said all procedures were set in motion and that all air carriers the health ministry has been collaborating with over many years were contacted.
“Despite the immediate and repeated efforts on behalf of the HIO, none of the collaborating air carriers was able to make the airlift within the specified timeframe of three hours,” the organisation said.
Constraints on delaying the procedure
The HIO said it was not possible for the hospital abroad to delay the procedure.
“In cases of potential transplants, the timeframes are determined by strict international clinical and operational constraints, which cannot be modified administratively,” it said.
Response to media reports and role clarification
The HIO said the failure to airlift the patient could not be attributed to inaction or omission on its part, and that it was responding to media reports about the incident.
It added that it was not involved in patient evaluation, but handled logistics according to a protocol implemented for all patients sent abroad.
Transfers abroad since October 2025
The HIO said that since October 2, 2025, it has sent 198 patients abroad, of which 27 were airlifted and nine involved life-threatening health conditions.
What changes, if any, do you think should be made to ensure urgent transplant airlifts can be arranged within strict timeframes?
